Disposable absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, catamenial pads, panty liners, diapers, training pants, incontinent garments, underarm shields and the like, are designed to be worn adjacent to a human body to absorb discharged body fluids. The body fluids can include urine, blood, menses, perspiration and other excrements discharged by the body at various times, such as during a menstrual period. Such articles are normally multi-layered in construction and include a liquid-permeable cover, a liquid-impermeable baffle and an absorbent positioned therebetween. The article can also include a transfer and/or distribution layer situated between the cover and the absorbent which directs body fluid downward, away from the cover and into the absorbent. Most covers are designed to allow rapid fluid transfer into the absorbent where it can be retained. The baffle serves to prevent fluid that is present in the absorbent, from leaking out and soiling or staining an undergarment or another adjacent piece of clothing.
The body contacting cover must serve many functions. First, the cover should provide a dry surface against the body of the user of the absorbent article. A measure of dryness is a low rewet value. That is, the cover should prevent rewetting of the user's skin when the absorbent article is compressed or distorted by ordinary body movement. Second, the cover should serve to mask the body fluid that has passed into the absorbent. This is especially true for feminine products where blood and/or menstrual fluid is being retained by the absorbent. Female users prefer a product having a clean appearance. Third, the cover should have sufficient openness to allow the body fluid to pass quickly down into the absorbent. This can be accomplished by using larger fibers with a higher denier, or by aperturing the cover. Large denier fibers are desirable for fluid management. Fourth, the cover should be soft and comfortable against the user's skin. Portions of the user's torso, crotch, legs, thighs and buttocks may come in direct contact with at least a portion of the absorbent article. Fifth, the cover should be easy to manufacture and should be relatively inexpensive.
Numerous products exist which use different materials and constructions for the cover. One commonly used material is a nonwoven web because it performs well and is relatively inexpensive. It is also known that aperturing a nonwoven material constructed of fine fibers can significantly increase fluid "pass through rate" and this is a very desirable feature. However, when large denier fibers are used, they are normally stiffer than fine denier fibers, and when a high pigment content is added to provide masking characteristics, the fibers become even stiffer. When a web of such stiff fibers is apertured, some fibers are broken and become oriented upward as the aperturing pins are removed. These upwardly extending stiff fibers can create a course or harsh surface which is uncomfortable against a wearer's skin. For this reason, manufacturers have either stayed with fine denier fibers or have limited the amount of whitener added to large denier fibers which need to be apertured.
Now an absorbent article and a method of making the absorbent article have been invented which allows use of an apertured, nonwoven cover constructed of large denier fibers, which contain a high pigment content while still providing a soft feel against a user's skin.